Pacified
by punkforest
Summary: He was so far gone with the pain, that he didn't register the shout in the distance, nor the subsiding of his agony. All he wanted was to be away from here. With her.


"Crucio!"

A scream was ripped from an unseen throat that wracked the stale night air and caused a few birds huddled in the trees to take flight. The scream carried over the treetops for miles, and the next morning, the villagers of Hogsmeade would surely be alight with rumors about its source. Any casual observer would have been strongly inclined to believe these woods were haunted, but in reality, the only haunted part of the scene was the history between the two men hidden from sight in the heart of the forest.

Suddenly, one of them emerged holding a thin wand. He had a dull gleam in his eye and a dark look about him. From a distance, many would have called him handsome. Because as dark and pitted as his demeanor, his hair and skin were fair and flawless. A juxtaposition of personality and past. Of course, Lucius Malfoy cared little for the thoughts of others. As long as the ministry was not overly suspicious, he allowed the mudbloods and muggle-lovers to twitter about his evil ways. True, he was aligned with the dark lord and yes, he did ... dabble in the black arts. 

But that was simply a part of the Malfoy name.

The other man, doubled over and breathing hard, shared his father's platinum hair and flawless features, but he had none of the elders' love for Voldemort. Draco Malfoy was young, still a student at Hogwarts in his final year. His eyes were locked on the ground between his palms, as if willing it to swallow him whole. Draco knew why his father was here, and what had to be done before the night was through. He was not looking forward to it in the least.

"Did you honestly think id did not know, Draco?" Sneered his father. "We Malfoy's are practiced in the art of deceit. I knew far before you had even accepted the fact yourself."

Draco grimaced. His worst suspicions had been confirmed, although how his father found out, Draco could not say. He had guarded his emotions carefully at the school and even more so at the manor. He was a fool to think that this change would have escaped notice.

The younger Malfoy forced himself to his feet, staggering on the way up. His body screamed in protest of the movement after his fathers' forceful discipline. He raised his eyes to meet those of his father. The same steely gray, but one void of any compassion.

"You are not a foolish boy, Draco." Lucius drawled. "I expect you will give up this ...... infatuation, immediately." 

Draco's eyes, rather than bow away from those of his father, remained unmoving. His mouth set in a grim line, he whispered. 

"No."

The whisper carried all the conviction that a primal scream could have delivered, and the unexpected answer caught Lucius Malfoy off his guard. It took only a moment however, for the man to regain his cool facade. 

"Crucio." 

The word was spoken almost dully, but the pain that tore through Draco was far more intense than before, betraying Luicus' true response. Liquid fire seared behind Draco's eyes, his tendons were taught to the point of snapping, his throat constricted and his muscles torn. The spasms wracking his lithe body were overtaking him quickly, and before long, he frantically registered he would lose conciousness.

He was so far gone with the pain, that he didn't register the shout in the distance, nor the subsiding of his agony. All he wanted was to be away from here. 

With her.

The world went black.

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When Draco awoke, he was in the hospital wing. 

The clean starched sheets around him felt like leaden slabs atop his heavy arms, but with an effort, he managed to sit up straight. Immediately, the shards of memory came rushing back to him. 

Being rushed carried through the dark school halls. 

The curious and anxious faces crowded around his bed. 

The occasional visitor mumbling something about his health. 

The snippets of rumor about his part in a death eater meeting. 

He snorted and fell back into his starched pillow. He would rather be unconscious again than to have to deal with the student population over the next few days. 

His eyes didn't need a second bidding and as soon as he closed them, sleep was upon him.

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When he awoke for the second time, he was vaguely aware of someone in the room with him. He slowly and noiselessly shifted the curtain draped around his bed to the side and his breath hitched at what he saw.

She was sitting there, on a chair next to an infirmary bed, in which the weasel was snoring with a comical expression of surprise on his face. But none of that was important. She was here.

She glanced away from the other bed for a moment, and their eyes locked. 

She scowled, and so did he. 

"What happened to the weasel?" He asked scornfully. He was afraid to use her name, for fear that she would hear the caress in his voice.

"Bludger to the face." She said simply, coldly. She had no reason to be warm. 

After a few minutes, she got up to leave, her bookbag thunking heavily against her thigh. She turned to leave without a word to Draco, but her bushy brown hair swept her shoulders as she walked. 

"See you around Granger." He said casually as she strode past.

Hermione stooped in her steps for a moment. She did not turn to look at Draco, but a small bit of her scowl fell from her face. She kept on walking. 

Just as she reached the door, she turned and said something quite unexpected. 

"See you Draco."

Long after she had left, Draco's heart was still struggling to fly out his throat.

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They are by FAR the most romantic possible couple in the series. I LURVES them!

Read? REVIEW!

I might make this a multi-chapter thing. Depends on the feedback. 


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